Shunts of various designs have been utilized in the medical field as a way of temporarily by-passing an anatomical structure or structures during a surgical procedure while still maintaining blood flow. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,824 to Gamponia discloses a substantially Y-shaped shunt including two entry limbs or branches and a single discharge limb. Each limb carries an inflatable collar adapted to hold each limb of the shunt in position in a blood vessel during use.
One shortcoming shared by branched shunts such as disclosed in the Gamponia patent is the difficulty the branching presents when introducing the shunt into or through an anatomic structure of the patient. Specifically, the branching makes it difficult as one or more of the branches or legs often interfere with the introduction process by inadvertently engaging one or more adjacent anatomical structures. To date, no effective solution has been provided addressing this problem.